I know there are some of us here that maybe watch as much or more women's ball. Sure, Outsports has a contest for the men's brackets, but I set up a group on ESPN for us to compare our brackets for the women's tourney.


Game Front Page: http://games.espn.go.com/tcwomen/frontpage

Our Group Name: Outsports
http://games.espn.go.com/tcwomen/group?groupID=3299

The group is currently public, but we can always make it private with a password if folks want.

So, will Maryland repeat? Which big team will go in with less confidence after getting upset in their conference tourney?

As an added topic starter, here's the first of four regional previews written by my boyfriend. This one's all about the teams in the Greensboro Regional. Duke's only got an hour commute.

I don't see Maryland repeating this year. I think teams figured them out as everytime they seemed to have to play a "big" game, they'd lose. They'll win probably a couple of games, but I think that's it. I see OU doing well as long as they get contributions from more than just Courtney and one other player.

Hate to say it, but the usual suspects will most likely be in the final four again. It's just too unusual that someone not seeded a 1 or a 2 will make it that far. Once in a while you have a Southwest Missouri State (now sans the "Southwest") that will make a run, but those are few and far between.

Wow ... That was a great preview. Very impressive.

I can't see Maryland getting to the Final 4 either. IMO, they haven't played with the same fire this year ... they had this 'underdog' swagger last year, but they are playing scared now.

I have UT, UNC, Duke and Stanford in the Final 4. I don't like UConn to do much this year. I think that NC State will give them a great game and Wiggins is going to carry the Cardinal to the Final 4.

I'm pulling for Tennessee. If Spencer can contribute from the outside, they will be tough to beat. I'm also a huge Summit and Candace Parker fan. I think they'll meet Duke in the final, so I guess that's a pretty boring prediction. A 1 seed vs. a 1 seed. But there will be tons of good games along the way.

I do think Stanford has it in them to make the final four. But watch for N.C. State to upset Conneticut to play Stanford in the last eight. N.C. State has some good wins this year.

I hope someone takes North Carolina out. I am sick of Ivory Latta's attitude. But they are a tough, quick team.

And no, I don't think Maryland can beat two top teams just to get to the final four. I don't think they'll get past Oklahoma. Ohio State is prime for an upset, so that Middle Tennessee team could come at Tennessee with some in-state rivalry fire.

Close call for Oklahoma today, but they advance. Courtney Paris was "this close" to ending her streak of double-doubles. That's points and rebounds, not cheeseburgers.

The rest of Frank's articles are up. Pretty good reads:

Dallas Regional Preview

Fresno Regional Preview.

And my favorite, the Dayton Regional Preview

As a bonus, his preview of some of the best matchups.

I swear I'm not biased, it's good stuff.

Looks like Florida State is about to upset Old Dominion...

and my Mountaineers beat Xavier quite handily

Congrats to the Marist Red Foxes for knocking off Ohio State in the first round yesterday, 67-63. This was a 13-4 matchup, but the Buckeyes were left playing catch-up the whole second half and could never make their final run to get over the hump.

Arizona State nearly stumbled against UC Riverside, winning 57-50 after trailing the entire second half until the very end. Used to have a rooting interest in ASU when their starting point guard, Kylen Loney, was there. She is from here in Ames. I'm not sure how she ended up in Tempe, whether it was SHE wanted to play away from home, or ISU didn't really look at her because our point position was pretty much set for the forseeable future then.

Been enjoying all of the games this weekend. Looking forward to the boilermakers playing MaChelle Joseph's GT team. Loved watching her play at Purdue.

I'm not a big fan of Ivory Latta's attitude either. She is tough though. Hopefully Purdue will get a shot at revenge for last year's 2 pt loss in the round of 16.

Go Lady Terps!! With the men out I now only have the ladies to solely root for. I think that they have what it takes to get to the Final 4. Its tougher being the defending champ than going in seeking that first one. But Maryland's losses this year have been to excellent teams. Duke and North Carolina are 1 seeds and make up 4 of the 5 Maryland's losses this year. Georgia Tech was their only bad loss. So overall, I'd still say the Terps shouldn't be ignored and a final 4 is definitely a possibility.

As long as Brenda Frese is there, I will support the Terps. She's an Iowa girl, after all (Cedar Rapids), and a former Iowa State assistant.

Would have liked to go see Maryland play at UNI this season, but we had bad weather that night. Other friends ended up not making the trip either because of the roads. Surprisingly, it wasn't much of a game...

ack... Stanford is upset at home. they should have won this game. what a rough final game for their seniors.

:-( Guess I was wrong. Aww Lady Terps. What happened?

I have never rooted so hard for a Notre Dame team! They really played well against North Carolina. Just couldn't hold that lead long enough. Rats. And UW-Green Bay had a great first half and were sparking dreams of an upset. Connecticut sure bounced back, though.

Someone please beat Latta.

There are soooo many coaching positions open next year. Watch for some chaos after the tourney when the hiring dance starts. Coaches that leave one school for another are sure to set off a chain of events. Players once committed to go to a university have the opportunity to change their mind if the coach that recruited them is no longer there.

I was at the games in Pittsburgh and was happy to see that everyone who wasn't wearing Carolina Blue-- and that was just about evrynody-- didn't like Latta. She is was too self-important and looks a bit psycho. That comes from Sylvia Hatchell, though, who continued to press Prairie View in Round 1 even with a 35-point lead.

Wow, Harding channeled Darius Washington on those last FT's, 2 to win, 1 to tie and clank city.

Good job to Purdue to beat the thugs from Georgia. They were down pretty big in the first half, too. Good luck the rest of the way...

Tennessee sent Cinderella home. The coach from Marist must be quite a motivator. He's coached state champions in 4 different sports, if I remember the commentator's anecdote correctly. Playing against Pat Summit's team it became clear that Marist was a team that got as far as they did on heart and by playing as a team. They just didn't have the talent to compete with an elite program. I kept waiting for Parker to dunk in this game as it seemed like the perfect opportunity. No luck.

Sad to see Oklahoma and the Paris sisters get knocked out, but it's hard to deny how good the Ole Miss team is playing. Can they avenge their loss to the Lady Vols during the regular season? I hope not. I'm still pulling for Tennessee to take the whole thing.

I was shocked that Purdue got such a high seed, but kudos to them for living up to it.

Seeing Harding miss those last second free throws was crazy. Wade trophy candidate, best point guard in the country, has the game in her hands and crumbles. Ouch. It was her last game as a college athlete but you have to hope she can look past it.

Rutgers is going to bring it on home. They are peaking at the right time and as Coach Stringer said they are a team of destiny.

Tennessee was a flat out machine in the win last night. The next week I'm sure the Tennessee/UNC game will be called "the real national championship", but wouldn't it be something for Bob Starkey to become Steve Fisher 2.0 and lead LSU to a title?

Speed seems to be the theme in the final four. Tennessee is probably the slowest of the group, but maybe "least quick" is more appropriate when you see how athletic they are.

LSU vs. Rutgers is a tough call. They are so similar. If Sylvia Fowles plays as good as she did in the regional final, she could be too much for Rutgers. But I think this will be a gritty, low scoring game.

Tennessee vs. North Carolina is just as tough to call, but will probably be a better game because of the kind of match ups. Can the Lady Vols shut down Larkens? I think they can contain Latta, but if they don't slow down Larkens, they will struggle. Sidney Spencer or Bobbit have to provide an outside threat for Tennessee. I think Parker will be her usual brilliant self, but she'll need some support. This game could see some high scores.

What a monumental collapse by North Carolina. GO TENNESSEE!!! Rutgers is a great story out of the women's side though so its gonna be tough to root for either team in that final. I have such respect for Pat Summit and her girls made an amazing comeback today!

It cant get much better Rutgers-Tennessee....two of the greatest womens coaches of all time..the top two active leaders....should be a great game and like they have been saying, RU is a team of destiny. They absolutely decimated LSU tonight and knockec Fowles out cold.

Wow.
Woooooooooow.

What.a.come.back... Go Lady Vols!

Candace Parker is the man. I was tres impressed by Shannon Bobbitt, too... They made me late for the Amazing Race, though!

Great comeback by Summit and the Lady Vols. Considering Hornbuckle and Spencer were MIA ( as almost everyone did offensively), Its pretty impressive UT came back for the win.




If Rutgers wasn't playing my alma malter, I would be pulling for the Big East team. Hopefully, the Lady Vols will play better offensively. They'll need it against the Lady Scarlet Knight's great defense.

i am so relieved Tennessee won!! but that was a close, ugly game. i loved seeing Bobbit get into Latta's head. The Lady Vols are lucky UNC fouled out two players with 4+ minutes left, and then lost another to leg cramps. whew.

Rutgers shot out of their minds tonight. They came with a great game plan and certainly looked like they wanted it more. Maybe because they had a coach they really wanted to win for?

I'm rooting for Tennessee in the final, but I like Rutgers as well. I'm just glad Latta is done.

Summit and Stringer are two of my favorite head coaches of all time. I am kind of torn in this game. Summit hasn't won a championship since I was in school at UT almost 10 years ago. Stringer hasn't won one, yet has been one of the greatest to coach in the women's game.

I guess either way, I can see the good in both teams winning.

If Tenn vs. UNC was a "fist fight in a phone booth" then what is Tenn vs. Rutgers gonna be?!? I'm a Big East guy, too ...BUT, I was born in TN, had family play for TN, and my kid sister is at TN, too.

Go Vols!
Stringer will win it next year... And maybe even the year after that...

Should be a great game tonight. I'm joining up with some UT friends and watching the game here in Atlanta. Even if UT loses, I'll be happy for RU.


Its a Win Win tonight!

A UT win or Big East win. Can't beat that!

GO RU!

Both teams deserving but I'm so happy for Candace Parker and the girls and for Pat Summit getting #7

Go Tennessee! SEC is just doin the damn thing this year!!

Argh! I was teaching tonight, so I missed the game. Ironically, I'm teaching a course on policy analysis and using Lauren Kessler's "Full Court Press" as one of the course texts. The TV in the classroom didn't work. ARGH!

Glad to the Vols won!

Congrats Lady Vols!

Both these teams are going to be tough, so maybe Rutgers can take some solace in that they will have a good shot again next year.

Did anyone see ESPN2's multiple camera and stat sheet version of the coverage? Pretty cool to be able to see both coaches during the game.